Researchers salivating over access to Twitter archive from Library of Congress

The Library of Congress now has the entire Twitter archive from 2006-2010.

I just finished reading an update on the Twitter archive at the Library of Congress.

The LOC now has the full archive from 2006-2010 which is approximately 170 billion tweets. That’s more than 133.2 terabytes of data. The update includes details about how the data was acquired and the ongoing process of receiving such massive amounts of data on a daily basis. The Library of Congress has always archived large amounts of data but the fact that Twitter content is produced by the minute, and has no end – is new. I’ll admit that it was a fascinating read and i now know a lot more about how the LOC operates. I could probably get through a round in Jeopardy on the topic.

But what intrigued me the most was all of the inquiries they’ve received from researchers, chomping at the bit for access to the archives.As a journalist, I certainly appreciate the release of information, and once it is released we will be in for some good stories, studies and research reports. So, if you’re wondering what some of those requests are, read on.

Here are two types of requests the LOC has received from researchers. This is directly from the update:

A master’s student is interested in understanding the role of citizens in disruptive events. The student is focusing on real-time micro-blogging of terrorist attacks. The
questions focus on the timeliness and accuracy of tweets during specified events.

A post-doctoral researcher is looking at the language used to spread information about charities’ activities and solicitations via social media during and immediately following

The Library of Congress has received 400 such inquiries from researchers all over the world spanning topics from those above to tracking flu pandemic, citizen responses to candidates’
stances on various issues and tracking public access to court systems. There are also inquiries associated with specific hashtags.

And some people actually think Twitter has no purpose. Go figure.

I hope these researchers gain access ASAP, because I can’t wait to see what they deliver.

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Hi Angela – count me as one who has never been interested in Tweets; although, giving faster tracking to flu and other epidemics does sound useful.

For example, I imagine that 98% of the tweets commenting on Sandy Hook were various ways of expressing shock and horror. The other 2% were drunk and misunderstood the situation. What is the point in reading tweets on that topic?

LOL, when it comes to tracking tweets from our politicians, is there any proof that their tweets are less disingenuous than their campaign speeches? If their tweets prove to be more honest, then you may have converted me to twitter. Lol